Are You a Learner?

What did you do over the weekend? Last weekend, I completed my CBAP Bootcamp classes! If you are interested in Business Analysis and you want to get certified, I will recommend my teacher over and over and over again! Shoot me an email and I’ll def share his contact details with you.

If you have been on this journey with me long enough, you know how fascinated I am with learning new things: Six Sigma | Languages | Other courses. In my vision board, I picked one major training I wanted to complete. So far (so so good), I have undertaken three new learning activities this year: Safe Agile, Business Analysis (CBAP in view) and a Sewing Class. Today, I want to share with you ways you can improve yourself in your chosen field of work.

To answer the question in the blogpost title, I am a learner. So, a little about me:

During the day (and at night and on weekends, because salary earner… lol), I am a Change Management Specialist. I partner with teams to ensure the successful deployment, reception, adoption and utilisation of new processes, products and/or platforms. Change Management is not your typical line of work: Law, Medicine, Accounting or the more recent Project Management e.t.c. I actually requested for a non-existent job role in my previous organisation.

So, let’s talk about my tips and walk through my experience so far:

Google is your friend: My first encounter with Change Management was via Google. I worked in an organisation that had recently acquired one part of a Government parastatal and it was key to ensure a smooth transition. So, I started to search and I came across Change Management. If you have a chosen line of work or business and you want tips or recommendations, Google it. Seriously. You do not need to word your question perfectly, type it out as it comes to your head.

Subscribe to Websites that matter: After reading through the responses, find the common theme and search (Google, again) for websites that offer dedicated information concerning what you want to learn. I found Prosci – Prosci also offers the most coveted (expensive) Change Management certification. Keep searching.A word of caution: try not to overburden yourself by subscribing to too many websites. Sift through and pick what matters.

Complete courses on free Learning platforms: I think I make the most noise about free learning platforms – I have blogposts dedicated to Six Sigma | Languages | Other courses. You should read these posts, subscribe to platforms that offer MOOCs and ensure you complete the courses. I know how hard it can be to keep at it, but this is for your benefit. So, what’s a MOOC? A massive open online course (MOOC) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. To get the best MOOC for you, click any of the two links MOOC List or mooc.org!

Read Books: An alaroro tip, those guys in traffic that sell books – patronise them. Go book thrifting. Look for free books online and if you find a book that you absolutely need to have? BUY IT. I cannot overemphasize this. People who have gone ahead of you, experienced the rough trails of your career path have documented their experiences. Learn from them! You can buy books from Laterna Bookstores online: click here.

Take advantage of YouTube: YouTube is a learning platform. My best attempt at makeup was inspired by Dimma Umeh – I followed her tutorial, step-by-step and arrived at magic. If I can do that for makeup, and follow a Sisi Yemmie video tutorial for puff-puff, why can’t I do the same for my career? Search YouTube for career-related content today!

Leverage on your organisation’s offerings: If you work for an organisation, engage your Training or Learning partners and select the appropriate training for where you are and also take you to where you are going.

Professional Courses: The main thing that brought this on for me was CBAP, as I mentioned earlier. A CBAP is a Certified Business Analysis Professional – someone who has up to 7500 hours of business analysis experience during the last 10 years. Now, I have had different jobs and never did I think one profession would come out of all the jobs! Business Development in Advertising, Customer Care for e-Commerce, Change Management in Energy and now… Find Professional Courses that fit your path and take them. In our country, letters after your name matter – B.Sc, M.Sc, MBA, LlM, LSSBB, PMP, PMI, CBAP, LLNP, GGMUB

Have an open mind!: with an active sieve. Consume and sort. Apply what you consume. Learn from everything and anything. The Word of God contains information that can grow your career. For example, the Parable of the Sower talks about different kinds of people who hear the word. In Change Management, if the seed does not fall on fertile soil, adoption and utilisation will be zero. What did I learn? Make the soil fertile first. Find what makes them receptive and build a Resistance Management Plan around that! Of Adam, Eve and the serpent, I learned that ensuring direct communication will help aid adoption and utlisation levels. The point is, you can learn from anything. Be open!

6 Comments

This Viv, is an incredibly useful post! I keep telling myself I need to learn more – and not just career wise.
In 2016, I learned to blog. 2017 should be driving and swimming and then I think 2018 I shall be very focused re learning career stuff!